Be Yourself: A tribute to Monty
by Whynoteh
Summary: You know the news. This is to honor him, and to pay respects to the kind of man he was and is.


**The song is Be Yourself by Audioslave, and this is a tribute to the man Mounty was and is.**

Under the gray clouds of Vale, rain beats against the large window of their unlit dorm like strangers knocking on their door, albeit in a rhythmic way that could lull one to sleep. It was because of this rain that Ren and Nora decided to stay in today, and so they saw no better time to rest than now, what with their homework already done and no impending task at hand. But there was a problem. The rain wasn't the only tears falling from above.

On the bed closest to the window, Nora sleeps on her side, her head in Ren's lap, and looking down Ren can see her face furrow and tremble with water spilling from her eyes. It doesn't surprise Ren all that much, this occurrence not being unseen of from her. He knows that Nora still sometimes dreams of the family they had back in their village before the incident, and that regardless of her boundless energy and happy go lucky attitude, she couldn't control her emotions while she slept.

Ren knew what to do, as he had done many times before, and started to whisper in song to the troubled Valkyrie, certain she could hear him like she has always before. It was a song Ren's father knew, a song that had been recovered from a different time, and one that, for the most part, Ren believed in. He believed the lyrics spoke to Nora and him, and that in a sense, they both lived by the words. As he started to hum the opening, Ren slid one hand into Nora's grasping hands, letting her hold onto to something, and with the other, stroked her ginger hair back, wiping away a tear in the process. And so he spoke their personal gospel;

_"Someone falls to pieces sleeping all alone,_

_Someone kills the pain_

_Spinning in the silence to finally drift away..._

_Someone gets excited _

_In a chapel yard, Catches a bouquet,_

_Another lays a dozen_

_White roses on a grave..."_

He could feel the vulnerable girl tense up on his last words, clearly listening.

_"And to be yourself is all that you can do..._

_To be yourself is all that you can do..._

_Someone finds salvation in everyone_

_and another only pain,_

_Someone tries to hide himself_

_down inside himself he prays._

_Someone swears his true love_

_until the end of time, another runs away,_

_Separate or united?_

_Healthy or insane?_

_To be yourself is all that you can do,_

_To be yourself is all that you can do,_

_To be yourself is all that you can do,_

_To be yourself is all that you can do..._

_And even when you've paid enough, been pulled apart or been held up_

_With every single memory of the good or bad faces of luck,_

_don't lose any sleep tonight,_

_I'm sure everything will end up alright._

_You may win or lose, but to be yourself is all that you can do..._

_And to be yourself is all that you can do."_

Nora laid there unmoving, lulled into a deep sleep by Ren's soft voice and his caring hands. As the finishing touch, he leaned over, placing a gentle kiss upon her temple, and whispered once more;

"_Everything will be all right. I'll alway be here for you."_

The rain continued, but it didn't matter, for in this moment, both souls were content, and all was right with the world.

-End-

**I still can't believe that Monty is dead, and every time I say it out loud, I start choking on my tears, but what I feel and think doesn't matter, because this is about Monty. He is gone, but will not be forgotten, his work, his dreams, his being, all are inscribed into the annexes of our memories. Though his voice we will never again hear, nor his animations we will see, nor his very being, Monty's influence will always be felt, and will continue to work magic in the world well after his passing. Ren will still live on, RWBY will still live on, we will still live on, and that is something he would want. Monty spilled the ketchup on that one napkin that fateful day and was inspired to create a world and a story to tell, it became his dream to make this world come alive and to share it with us. None of us are the same now, sharing his dream between each other, theorizing for hours why Neo, Coco, and Raven all wear the same necklace, why do faunas exist, what is Jaune's semblance, who is Ozpin, who's the strongest fighter out of the main four, what's the best way to write a smut about Professor Port and Qrow, and so on. He wanted to use every drop of his creative fantastical mind to produce the most awesome thing he could, fighting Rooster-teeth for the chance to do so, worked endless nights animating epic fight scenes, and put his heart and soul before the public to join in.**

**And so I say, be yourself, it's all you can do. Mourn, cry, scream, laugh, go silent, speak out, support each other, support Kerry and Miles to carry the torch, kindle the flames of this community, make his dream come true, watch the show, write a fan fic, draw some art, build a functioning Crescent Rose that fires .50 caliber sniper rounds for christ sake, be yourself, just as Monty did. He is gone, but everything he accomplished isn't. **


End file.
